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Clefable @ Leftovers *** FAIRYBOT
Trait: Unaware
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Wish
- Protect
- Heal Bell / Fire Blast
- Moonblast
Blessed by Gamefreak with Fairy typing and a new ablity in Unaware, Clefable finally has a major niche that gives it a shot at making a lot of OU teams. Clefable has a few important things to offer teams, the first being Cleric support. With her new found typing, Clefable fines tons of opportunities to come in and pass a Wish or get a Heal Bell off, and over Blissey and Chansey she gets actual resistances. More importantly, however, is her ability to beat most boosters. She is my main counter to stuff like non-BP SD Lucario (Jolly BP gets beat, but I usually don't take my chances if I know it has BP), SD Talonflame (CB loses to Protect anyways), Jolly SD Mega Pinsir, and most DDing Dragons. You can PP stall DD MegaTar assuming you come in on a DD, too. In fact the only common boosters that break through her are Mold Breaker Exca, Mega Gyarados, and Flare Blitz Charizard X.
Probably the main reason I originally put Clefable in this spot over anything else is the fact that it gets Heal Bell. Heal Bell has a lot of synergy with the team; It makes Suicune's recovery more reliable, allows Zapdos to come in on Rotom-W not fearing the burn, Manaphy to not get crippled by para or poison, TTar to not care too much about Scalds, and Jirachi can now safely Trick Rotom-W. Despite the synergy with the team, I sometimes find myself wanting FB for stuff like Aegislash and Ferrothorn who think of Clefable as a free switch in. I still prefer Heal Bell, though.
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Suicune @ Leftovers *** DOGBOT
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 252 HP / 252 Def / 4 SDef
Bold Nature (+Def, -Atk)
- Rest
- Sleep Talk
- Scald
- Roar
Suicune is in the slot that was previously home to many other mons ranging from Sash Genesect to Milotic. Suicune along with Clefable beats most physical attackers being used (stuff like Mega Gyara and MegaTar). The set is pretty average for most Suicune, though sometimes I do wish it was Calm Mind so I could set up on teams who's only way out of Cune was Rotom-W or other strong special attacks. Roar has its merit though. It helps me beat things without hoping for a Scald burn. Suicune has a ton of utility in the meta atm since it can tank pretty much any hit. It's also really annoying to switch into since Scald is a bitch. Other than Roar I've tested a ton of other stuff in that spot like Toxic, Reflect, and Ice Beam, but Roar found the most use since a lot of things that switch in to Cune or things that Cune switches into set up and get beat by Roar.
Suicune has a few important things that made me want to use it over stuff like Vaporeon and Slowbro. The biggest one was the major bulk bust over Vap. A lot of hits 2HKO Vap even with its godly HP stat. Slowbro is part Psychic, meaning it's a lot more dangerous to switch in on TTar or Scizor.
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Zapdos @ Leftovers *** BIRDBOT
Trait: Pressure
EVs: 248 HP / 224 SDef / 36 Spd
Calm Nature (+SDef, -Atk)
- Thunderbolt
- Heat Wave / Hidden Power [Ice]
- Roost
- Defog
SpD Zapdos is a really anti meta set atm. It's a good switch-in to basically every common special attacker people are using. Mixed Aegislash, NP Lucario, Gengar, etc can all be switched in on and beat by Zapdos. It was originally here to take on Genesect , which I figured would be the most used pieces of shit this gen, and I was right. I also thought that since I didn't have hazards, Defog would have been really nice. My team hates hazards more than most so getting rid of them at the cost of not being able to keep them up is completely worth it. This is also my first switch in to Rotom-W since it doesn't really mind a burn and can PP stall Hydro Pumps.
I've been swapping between HP Ice and Heat Wave for some time now and I usually take Heat Wave for Ferro/Gene/Aegislash but sometimes I take HP Ice for stuff like Landorus(-T) that wants to try and set up on me. Heat Wave does have its moments, though, for Ferrothorn. Killing Ferro is sometimes a huge pain. Scizor and Aegis are hit hard enough by TBolt so that's really all Heat Wave is useful for.
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Manaphy @ Wacan Berry *** JELLYBOT
Trait: Hydration
EVs: 252 SAtk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Timid Nature (+Spd, -Atk)
- Tail Glow
- Surf
- Ice Beam
- Energy Ball
Manaphy is probably the cutest pokemon in the game, and is just as powerful. With its ungodly boosting move, Tail Glow, it tears apart offensive and defensive teams alike. Wacan Berry is the thing that makes this guy so deadly, and here's why: most people use something like Thundurus or Genesect as a check, and when they use Thunderbolt expecting to KO, Wacan Berry comes to save the day and allows me to KO them. It's especially effective on this team since after the check dies, I'm usually forced out by something else faster. That's where Manaphy's best friend, Jirachi, comes in. Jirachi fights for her friends and can use Healing Wish to bring Manaphy back up to full health. It's extremely difficult to OHKO a full health Manaphy, and it also gets ample times to set up again.
Another important thing to note is that since Manaphy is no longer dependent on rain, she gets another moveslot for a 3rd attacking move, Energy Ball. The amount of checks she has plummets down since she now gets perfect coverage. Honestly it's still as broken this gen as it was the last gens, and should probably stay banned as much as I love it.
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Tyranitar @ Tyranitarite *** DINOBOT
Trait: Sand Stream
EVs: 252 HP / 252 SDef / 4 Spd
Careful Nature (+SDef, -SAtk)
- Pursuit
- Crunch
- Stone Edge
- Stealth Rock
My main Gengar switch-in, Mega TTar is really helpful in the current meta since it beats basically every special attacker. With support from Clefable and Zapdos, this guy stays in the game really long despite not having recovery. When I was looking for something in this slot I wanted something that could switch-in on random strong special attacks like Greninja's or Starmie's Hydro Pump or Lati@s Draco Meteors and pose as an offensive threat. This guy is also a decent switch-in to Talonflame. With it I can hit Heatran and opposing TTar, along with Lucario's that think I'm choiced. It's nice right now even with the defog hype since Talonflame is really common. TTar is a really good user since most defoggers can't safetly get a Defog off on this guy. TTar outspeeds Aegis by 1 base speed so keeping your speed up is pretty important. Mega Tyranitar is really good Gengar bait since it can tank the FB easily and smack it around with Crunch. This actually happens really often, and so this guy is often my first switch-in to Gar.
There are a few reasons as to why I'm using MegaTar over normal Tar. First of all, I get to access Stealth Rocks. It's helpful for Talonflame and friends and it just suits my playstyle (aka residual damage). Next, it gets boosted defense which is useful for surviving random attacks (and has come to my aid a lot). Finally, it can be disguised as a DD Tar, forcing people to play a big more scared or cautious.
TTar does work no matter how the meta changes.
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Jirachi @ Choice Scarf *** STARBOT
Trait: Serene Grace
EVs: 252 Atk / 4 SDef / 252 Spd
Jolly Nature (+Spd, -SAtk)
- U-turn
- Iron Head
- Healing Wish
- Trick
Manaphy's partner in crime, Healing Wish Jirachi. The game plan is to have Manaphy weaken her checks like Thundurus or Genesect with a +3 Surf. After they fail to KO her and they get KO'd in return, Jirachi comes in and uses Healing Wish to give Manaphy a free switch in and full health, allowing her to easily grab another boost with her decent bulk. Outside of supporting Manaphy, Jirachi also helps with a lot of random threats that show up here and there like Kyu-B and most fairies. She also helps with a lot of set uppers like CM Reuniclus or Keldeo. I use Trick over Ice Punch because all IP hits is dragons, and Clefable beats them all. About Healing Wish; it isn't just for Manaphy. A lot of times Zapdos or Suicune gets worn down throughout the game so I can't switch them in when I want to, so having the option to bring them back up to a healthy amount is really useful. U-Turn is probably the best move on any Jirachi set since she lures in Heatran so badly and getting a free switch to Manaphy or Suicune is great. And who doesn't love winning with Iron Head?
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Threats
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Mega Venusaur and Mega Charizard Y are basically instaloses. Venu isn't hit SE by anything on my team so I have to just hope I can flinch it, and Charizard Y can 2HKO/OHKO everything. When I see a Zard I almost always try to bait for an easy switch to Tar for early rocks. MTar can survive 1 Focus Blast as a last resort. Nothing likes to switch in though. Most other stuff is possible to play around.
***THIS IS PO OU, MEANING MEGA GENGAR AND KANGASHKAN ARE BANNED***
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As far as laddering goes, I broke 1500 on PO http://imgur.com/1dpWNnf (#5).
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